By Pete Hammond | Deadline
John David Washington was in the unique position to play Boy Willie in both the Broadway revival of the August Wilson play and the new film version streaming on Netflix, and for which he just received the Actor Award from the Critics Choice Celebration of Black Cinema & Television. But here’s the thing: In both the play and the movie, he is working opposite Samuel L. Jackson, the actor who played Boy Willie in the 2022 Broadway revival.
On top of that, the movie is being produced by his father, Denzel Washington, as part of his efforts to bring all of Wilson’s plays to the screen. And on top of that, he was directed in the film by his younger brother, Malcolm Washington! No pressure here.
Far beyond it being all in the family for this one, John David has carved out a hugely promising and successful acting career apart from the lineage. His films have included Christopher Nolan’s Tenet; Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, for which he got Golden Globe and SAG nominations; opposite Zendaya in Malcolm and Marie; 2023’s acclaimed sci fi adventure The Creator, Monsters & Men, The Old Man and the Gun and many more. He starred for HBO as Ricky Jerrett on the hit comedy series Ballers, segueing from his own football career to doing it on TV. And there is so much more. We talk about all of it in this week’s episode of my Deadline video series The Actor’s Side.
Our conversation starts out talking about John David’s mother, Pauletta, who attended The Piano Lesson 40 times on Broadway and offered her son notes — er, “thoughts” — on his performance every single time. We also talk about how dad Denzel surprised him one night and how Jackson blew the secret just before curtain time. Plus, all the ups and ups of a career going strong.
To watch our conversation and to get the “actor’s side” of things from John David Washington, just click on the link above.
Join me every Wednesday during Oscar season for a new edition of The Actor’s Side.